Acrylamide Testing

High concentrations of acrylamide in certain foods were first published in 2002 following research findings by a team of Swedish scientists. This was a cause for concern across the food industry due to the potential carcinogenic effects that acrylamide may cause to humans. On 4th June 2015, the EFSA published its first full risk assessment of acrylamide in food reconfirming previous evaluations that acrylamide in food potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.

Acrylamide is formed primarily in starchy foods during high temperature cooking such as frying, baking, roasting as well as industrial processing. It is a product of the Maillard reaction which gives food its characteristic ‘brown’ colour and affects its taste. It forms from sugars and amino acids, primarily asparagine, that are naturally present in a range of foods.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 establishing mitigation measures and benchmark levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food took effect in April 2018. All food business operators are required to put in place practical steps to manage acrylamide within their food safety management systems in order to ensure that acrylamide levels are as low as reasonably achievable in their products.

Analytical method

Eurofins Wolverhampton has an established, UKAS accredited, analytical process for the determination of acrylamide in a range of food matrices. The method is based on two dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (2D-LCMSMS) using an internal standard during the extraction in order to compensate for any matrix effects. It has been validated according to the requirements set by (EC) 882/2004 and meets the performance characteristics for the determination of acrylamide in food. The method was first developed in Wolverhampton and has now been adapted as a Eurofins Group standard method.

Fast reliable results

Advantages of method used:

Fast turnaround on results

Improved sensitivity

Accurate results with less matrix interferences

Applicability to a wide range of food products

For more information about Eurofins food testing services please contact our sales team on 01431 1306 or make an enquiry.